Welcome to our week 1 Power Rankings. Movement is from the final regular season Pickwatch power rankings of 2021, so you can see who has made the best moves this offseason. Ready? Let's go!
The Bills are the consensus Super Bowl favorites, and for me it is no different. The roster is very well-rounded with no obvious weaknesses, and with Josh Allen’s ability to be special and take this team over the top, I have no problem ranking them 1st.
Despite the injuries on the interior offensive line, I still project this to be the top offense in the league with the greatness of Brady and the WR core. The defense is primed for a bounce-back year with that elite front 7 and solid secondary.
Although it ended poorly last year, let’s not dismiss the Packers. Looking at this defensive roster, it has the potential to be one of the best defenses Rodgers has ever had. So if Rodgers doesn’t fall off, this is a force to be reckoned with.
The defending champs at 4? Yes, they lost some key pieces like Andrew Whitworth, Von Miller, and potentially OBJ. It’s still a great team, but I don’t see either the offense or the defense as elite, although the well-coached group should still be division favorites.
Very few teams have had the offseason that the Chargers just had. Adding J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack turn this defense from a weakness to a strength, and we know what Herbert and the offense are going to be. Comes down to Staley’s ability to put it all together.
Kansas City is still a Super Bowl contender, don’t get that twisted, but the defense does concern me. Losing their best CB and best S won’t help them, and they’ll be relying on a couple of rookies to fill major roles. Regardless, Mahomes and Reid will keep this team great.
It might’ve been a somewhat lucky run for a 10-7 team last year, the improvements the Bengals have made in the offseason, especially on the offensive line, allow them to maintain the 7 spot in the preliminary roster rankings.
The Broncos are probably the most improved team this offseason after adding Russell Wilson. They go from what was an average football team last year, a great roster with a bad QB, to now a very good roster and an excellent QB. Sky’s the limit for Denver
Philadelphia has quietly built a very good roster. I still have questions about Jalen Hurts as the franchise QB, but I really don’t see a weak spot on this roster aside from the QB position. Nick Sirianni is an unknown as well, but he has all the pieces to be successful now.
Disappointing season last year for Baltimore, as injuries kind of derailed their season, but they’re not going away that easy. Another very solid draft for the Ravens as they look to retool and get ready for another playoff run.
I may be higher on the Vikings than the consensus, but I really do like their roster. The offense can be really special with Kirk, Jefferson, Cook, and Thielen, and the defense looks outstanding, at least on paper.
Most people only remember how the season finished, but forget that the Cardinals were actually a very good football team for the first 11 weeks or so. Kyler still finished in the top 8 in most metrics, and Kingsbury has improved his team’s win total in each of the past 3 seasons. Didn’t really lose anyone this offseason either.
I’m definitely much lower on the 49ers than most people, but I’m just not a believer in Trey Lance. I think last year’s 6th-ranked offense takes a step back without Jimmy, although the potential ceiling is higher. Defensively, they’ll be about what they were last year.
Dallas has now lost Tyron Smith, Amari Cooper, La’el Collins, and Connor Williams from the offense, and so I think it definitely takes a step back this year. The defense is really volatile, and so it could realistically rank anywhere from 1 to 25 by season's end.
Some splashy moves from the Raiders this offseason, adding Davante Adams and Chandler Jones. I have the offense jumping from 20th to 14th, and the defense staying about the same. I still don’t believe in Josh McDaniels as a head coach though.
No one’s talking about them, but the Commanders made one of the biggest QB upgrades this offseason, going from Heinicke to Wentz. And where’s the weak spot with this roster? I see no reason why this wouldn’t be a .500 team.
Always hard to rank Cleveland with Watson being out 11 games, but I do still think they have a very nice roster. The defense should be okay, and I have the offense still ranked 16th, primarily because of the elite offensive line and run game.
This feels like the definition of an average football team. Average at QB, average in the front 7, average in the secondary. I don’t think Matt Ryan is the QB he once was, and the defense really only has like 5 or 6 above average players on it.
Some questionable moves from New England this offseason, drafting C Cole Strange in the first round and then not naming an offensive or defensive coordinator, so it comes down to if we trust Belichick or not, because the roster really isn’t that good.
I’m not sure what to make of the Dolphins, considering they were 2 completely different teams in the first and second half of last season. Adding Tyreek Hill and Terron Armstead gives them an above average offense now, and Tua doesn’t have any excuses now.
I’m sorry but I’m just not on the Jameis Winston hype train. Yes, he was very effective in the very limited sample size last season, but I don’t think it’s sustainable, especially without Sean Payton in there. Dennis Allen has been a head coach before, and he wasn’t particularly good at it.
I think the Titans take a step back this year after losing AJ Brown. Last season, in the games without Brown, the Titans offense ranked 26th in the league in EPA/play. The defense also just lost their best pass rusher in Harold Landry, and there’s not a lot of elite talent elsewhere.
I guess it’s going to be the Mitch Trubisky show in Pittsburgh, or at least until he loses a couple games in a row and it becomes Pickett’s time. For that reason I worry about the offense, although the defense and coaching should be okay.
For the second offseason in a row, the Panthers added a QB from the stacked 2018 draft class, but now I think they’ve got it right. Baker projects as my 20th-ranked starting QB, and so with the rest of the roster being okay, I think the Panthers are just a nudge above the rest of the bottom-feeders.
I really like the Lions offense this year. The offensive line is one of the best in the league, and Jared Goff was legitimately a top 10 QB for the last 7 weeks of the season last year. The defense still worries me, however, but offense is more important anyway.
Had a little bit of a scare with the Zach Wilson injury, but it looks like he’ll be back around week 4 or so. The Jets actually have a very decent roster, looking about average in almost every position group, so it comes down to Zach being able to improve in his sophomore season.
What a disaster the Jaguars were last season. I really liked the hire of Doug Pederson this offseason, though, and I think he’s the perfect guy for Trevor Lawrence. Unfortunately the rest of the roster just isn’t there yet.
This is a huge year for Daniel Jones, as it is likely his last chance to prove himself as a starting QB in the NFL. Unfortunately for Jones, the Giants still haven’t done too much to help his situation, as the offensive line and WR group is still well below average
I think we can all agree that the Texans are likely the worst AFC team. They’re really not good at any position group (maybe CB), and so they’ve got the 29th offense and 27th defense in my rankings, and I expect them to be towards the bottom of the league yet again.
It’s 2022 and Geno Smith is your starting QB. Not ideal. I don’t like the offensive line at all, and the defense really doesn’t have much to work with aside from a nice safety duo. They lost Russ, DJ Reed, Duane Brown, and Carlos Dunlap this offseason.
Yes, we can all agree that the Bears will not be good this year. I do feel bad for Justin Fields, having the 32nd-ranked offensive line and 30th-ranked WR core, as he has a pretty low chance of succeeding this year. Hopefully Chicago can get this right in the coming years, but probably not this one...
For me, the worst team in the league is the Falcons, who really had a tough offseason given that they were way over the salary cap. They lost Matt Ryan, and now it will be Marcus Mariota working with a below average offensive line and one of the worst WR groups in the league. Good luck Atlanta.